Larae Lynne Obituary, Death;- A woman has been charged with causing a three-vehicle collision that resulted in the death of another motorist after she was suspected of driving the wrong way for several miles while intoxicated on a highway north of Rochester.

Simona Montiel Vera was charged last week in Goodhue County District Court with four counts each of criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation, along with three counts of fleeing law enforcement. These charges are related to the incident that occurred near Pine Island on September 14, 2024, which claimed the life of 60-year-old Larae Lynne Post from Rochester.

Vera, aged 36 and from San Diego, was taken into custody on Monday and is currently being held on $150,000 bail, awaiting a court appearance scheduled for September 3. Her attorney declined to comment on the allegations on Tuesday.

An investigation by the State Patrol revealed that Vera reached speeds of 110 miles per hour at one point during the 13 miles she drove in the wrong direction, with her speed recorded at 102 mph at the time of the collision, according to the criminal complaint.

The complaint states:

Numerous 911 calls alerted law enforcement to a pickup truck traveling north on southbound Hwy. 523, nearly colliding with several vehicles. A sheriff’s deputy quickly located the pickup, which was traveling at least 100 mph in the wrong direction on the highway.

The deputy, along with a state trooper, briefly pursued the driver, later identified as Vera, until she crashed. Post, who was driving a Chevy SUV, died at the scene. The driver of a Jeep, 25-year-old Marisa Emily-Taylor Johnson from Rochester, sustained multiple serious injuries but survived.

Vera was transported by emergency medical responders to a hospital in Rochester, where a blood sample was taken for testing. The results indicated that her blood alcohol content was 0.158% approximately three hours after the crash, nearly double the legal limit for driving in Minnesota.